Introduction to File Transfer Protocol

How do you get files from your computer to your webserver?

The answer is something called file transfer protocol, or FTP for short. FTP uses port 23, and is mostly used to move files between machines. FTP can also be used to move files around on a single machine.

When FTP was created, security wasn't that big a deal. In today's environment, you may do well to consider using sFTP, or some other more secure file transfer method to ensure that you files are not compromised by unauthorized viewers.

You can find good, open-source versions of FTP, such as Filezilla, using your favorite search engine. We use Filezilla daily, and recommend it highly.

Once you have your FTP client loaded on your machine, you will need to connect to a FTP server to move files. Let's assume you have a website hosted by GoDaddy. You can obtain your FTP server login information from your GoDaddy web admin page. You will probably need to create a new FTP account to get started. Once created, you provide the username and password for the FTP account to your FTP client program.

After all that, you are now ready to contact your host's FTP server, and move files to it. Obviously, you will need an internet connection for this part of the transaction.

Your FTP client will have a button to click to make the connection. If successful, you will see a screen that shows a tree-like display of the files and folders on your local machine, and the files and folders on your remote webserver.

To move files, you will simply need to select and drag the file with your mouse (or finger if you're using a tablet), and move it to the other window. You can move files from the remote machine to your local machine, and vice versa.

There may be slight variances in the user interface you are using, but the core concepts are the same, no matter what FTP client you are using.

Some of you may also need to run a FTP server, at some time or another. This is a complicated undertaking, and requires that you have access to a general-purpose server machine. You can administer a FTP server from a terminal window, provided you have administrator rights on the FTP server machine. For more on this topic, be sure to read our upcoming FTP Server Administration series.